Between May 24th and 25th, professionals who work at the Early Treatment and Stimulation Center, known as Nutep, learned about the physical structures, the flow of care and how research and health care are integrated in the units of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), in the rural area from Macaíba (RN). Nutep is a private, non-profit institution authorized by the Ministry of Health as a Specialized Center for Rehabilitation II (CER II), and provides services in the areas of hearing, intellectual health, motor rehabilitation and visual stimulation to the citizens of Fortaleza, in Ceará.

“We came to learn about the practice of the Santos Dumont Institute. The experience, what we can take from here to Nutep and also what we can offer. We know aspects related to organization, administration, health education and research. We saw scientificity in practice and we are delighted”, said Lêda Maria da Costa Pinheiro Frota, physiotherapist and general coordinator of Nutep. She was accompanied, on the technical visit to ISD, by Angelita Aníbal de Castro, pediatrician, coordinator of the Autism Unit at and supervisor of the Nutep Medical Service; and by Luciana de Souza Rodrigues Magalhães, psychologist, coordinator of Human Resources and the institution's Psychology Service.

Nutep has its units located in the Rodolfo Teófilo neighborhood, in the central region of the capital of Ceará. The Center is linked to the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) for actions in the areas of Teaching, Research and Extension. There, multidisciplinary care is provided for children aged 0 to 14. Today, approximately two thousand users, of all age groups, are linked to the Center through the services of Psychology, Pediatrics, Neuropediatrics, Orthopedics, Social Work, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Music Therapy, Psychomotricity and Orthopedic Workshop. 

The Santos Dumont Institute was presented to Nutep representatives by Angelo Roberto Gonçalves, general coordinator of Health for People with Disabilities at the Ministry of Health, during an event held in Fortaleza in March this year. “I already knew the Institute before it was mentioned by Ângelo (Roberto Gonçalves), from the Ministry of Health. I had a desire to come here to get to know up close how the union of teaching and health research is carried out”, commented Angelita Aníbal de Castro, pediatrician, coordinator of the Autism Unit at Nutep and supervisor of the Medical Service at Nutep.

On the same occasion, neuropsychologist Samantha Maranhão, who works as a preceptor at the Institute, presented the Autism Clinic and its successful experience in the rehabilitation of autistic children at the Qualification Workshop of the Health Care Network for People with Disabilities in the State of Ceará within the scope of the Unified Health System (PcD Network). She presented the lecture with the theme: “Organization of Care for People with ASD in Rio Grande do Norte – experience report from the Santos Dumont Institute – Macaíba/RN”. The Workshop was part of an integrated action between the ministerial body and the State Departments of Public Health throughout Brazil. At the end of 2021, ISD hosted the local event and brought together representatives from all Specialized Rehabilitation Centers (CER) spread across Rio Grande do Norte.

The Nutep team was received at ISD by preceptors Camila Simão, physiotherapist and coordinator of CER IV ISD; Lilian Lira Lisboa, manager of the Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (ANita); Samantha Maranhão, neuropsychologist and coordinator of ISD's Health Teaching Activities; Luana Aprígio, speech therapist; Yoshie Kanegane, physiotherapist; and Edgard Morya, coordinator of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences (IIN-ELS). 

“Receiving professionals from other institutions and learning about other services that also work in the health of people with disabilities is always very rewarding and important. In this way, we were able to share experiences, thus contributing to strengthening the health care network for this population”, highlights Camila Simão.